The present invention relates to an easy-open and reclosable container, especially to two types of easy-open and reclosable devices for a beverage container, and also relates to a triangular beverage container.
Beverage containers usually have a lifting tab attached to the top lid by means of a rivet for selectively depressing a scored portion on top of the top lid into the interior of the container to provide an aperture by pulling the lifting tab upwardly. The lifting tab cannot normally be used to reseal the aperture. After an unreclosable beverage container is opened any portion of the beverage not immediately consumed is usually discarded, since it is not practical to transport an unsealed container, and any beverage in the container has a tendency to "go flat" if stored due to the escape of dissolved gases.
In recent years, some reclosable mechanisms attached to a container have been suggested in the prior art. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,950 issued on Apr. 17, 1984 to Thomas P. Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,866 issued on Aug. 7, 1984 to George Mandel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,319 issued on Apr. 29, 1975 to Robert A. Wells et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,099 issued on Jan. 16, 1987 to Robert A. Wells, U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,797 issued on Nov. 11, 1980 to Nelson J. Waterbury, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,216 issued on Apr. 15, 1986 to Alan E. Byrd, U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,936 issued on Jan. 7, 1986 to Joseph F. Deflander, U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,561 issued on Mar. 27, 1951 to Miles 0. Polson et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,238 issued on July 21, 1987 to Ruben G. Sanchez.
The Wilson patent, Mandel patent and Wells U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,099 disclose a type of reclosable container having a scored portion on the container top lid and a removable lever member pivotally mounted on the top lid by a pivot rivet. Upon raising the lever member, the scored portion will be broken downwardly by the end of the lever member to form an opening. The lever member has a depending plug with a layer of resilient material on it for resealing the opening. In some cases, there is provided a stopper portion on the depending plug. However, there are limitations associated with a depending plug configuration. For example, this kind of reclosure is easily inadvertently reopened when bumped or when the container falls from a table. If a stopper portion is provided it is hard to add the resilient material onto it during manufacture due to the shape of the depending plug. Further, the lever member needs to sit in a protective recess for protection of it from contamination prior to use. As a result, applications of depending plug configurations are limited.
The Wells et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,319 teaches a similar reclosable container including a scored portion on the container top lid, and a closure member movably attached on the top lid and having a depending plug. The depending plug has a severing edge used to break the scored portion to provide an opening. To reclose the container, the depending plug can be moved into the opening to provide a friction engagement between the depending side of the depending plug and the adjacent side of the opening. This closure member has similar limitations to the above discussed reclosure mechanisms.
The Waterbury patent and Byrd patent show another type of reclosable container having a plug member articulated on the container top lid which is not only used to initially seal an opening on the toplid, but is reinsertable into the opening to reclose the container. The plug member has a lift element integrally formed on the plug member used to open the container by pulling the member upwardly. The Waterbury patent further suggests that the plug member can be made of plastic material and shaped in complementary fashion to the opening. This type of reclosable container still has the problem that the reclosed opening may be inadvertably reopened when bumped and the like. Moreover, if the plug member is made of plastic material and shaped in complementary fashion to the opening, the plastic lift element may sometimes have not enough tensile strength to open the sealed plug.
Sanchez discloses a resealable container comprising a scored portion on the container top lid and a rotatable tab member pivotally connected by a rivet assembly to a sealing member and resealing lobe with a resilient sealing layer attached on the inner surface of the container top lid. The rotatable tab member can be raised to depress the scored portion and the sealing member into the interior of the container to expose an opening. The resealing lobe is integral with the sealing member, and upon rotation of the tab member can be positioned so as to reseal the opening. As there is relatively large friction during the rotation operation, the rivet assembly has an inner rivet head and an outer sleeve portion. In this construction, all the sealing or resealing elements are set in the container. This type of resealable mechanism is very complicated and hence expensive to manufacture. Additionally, the material used to make the sealing member and resealing lobe must be carefully chosen because these elements are positioned in the container where they will be in contact with its contents.
Commercially available beverage containers today are normally made in round, cylindrical shapes. However, the round beverage containers waste a lot of space in supermarket, storage and shipping areas. In addition, round containers easily roll when dropped and can be dangerous. This is not desirable, especially while in airplanes, trains, cruise ships, passenger buses, boats or cars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,114 issued on Feb. 13, 1979 to Elizabeth T. Long et al for "Composite Container Having A Plurality Of Removable Sections" discloses a composite container with at least three separable individual compartments. In one embodiment, the composite compartmented container is divided into right-triangular separate compartments joined together by solder globules to form an overall round configuration.
Another U.S. patent for "Container" in U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,342 issued on Apr. 29, 1975 to Stephen H. Longo, Jr., suggests forming multiple attached triangular containers for receiving a product by using a unitary blank having foldable panels and end panels formed from the same blank.
The present invention overcomes the limitations or disadvantages in the previous reclosable containers and the round containers by providing two types of new easy-open and reclosable containers and a triangular beverage container.